Hockey refs laud success of local campaign to end abuse of young officials

Amateur hockey officials in eastern Ontario who are under the age of 18 wore green armbands to identify themselves as minors this past season — a small change to their uniform that made a big difference in how they're treated, according to young referees.

Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO), the governing body for amateur hockey across the region, introduced the armbands as part of a campaign to stop harassment of young referees by coaches, players and parents.

Head referee John Reid knows referees often bear the brunt of people's frustrations during games, but that becomes a problem when it verges on abuse. 

"Once they start to yell and other people start to think it's OK, then they start to yell, as well … We thought, well, let's put a kibosh [on] this and bring it to an end," Reid told Robyn Bresnahan, host of CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

As part of the campaign, anyone who harassed officials wearing the green armband also faced stricter penalties. Reid said that made a significant impact and made people take the campaign more seriously.

He recalls one incident at his granddaughter's hockey game where he says a man was yelling at the referee. 

"The lady next to him pointed out, 'Listen, this fella's got a green armband on. Do you not realize why he has that on? He's just young and he's just learning. Maybe you should start thinking about that.'" Reid said.

Impact on mental health

In his first year as a referee, Justin Pilon said confidence was affected by persistent yelling from coaches.

"Some coaches are great, but others are pretty impatient and can say some pretty hurtful things," the 16-year-old said.

He added that wearing a green armband "definitely improved" his experience.

"You can kind of see coaches sometimes when they start to lose their cool, they kind of take a step back," Pilon said.

Campaign to continue

Pilon said he hasn't thought about quitting due to the verbal abuse, but he knows of other minor hockey officials who say they've considered it due to the toll it's taken on their mental health.

Reid said that's not unusual, but it's something he hopes the armbands can help change.

• Campaign aims to end abuse of minor hockey officials in eastern Ontario
• Referees chased away by verbal and physical abuse

One father contacted him saying his son quit refereeing after just two years because of the harassment he faced. 

"He said if we had this initiative [earlier] perhaps [his son] would never have quit,'" Reid said.

Overall, Reid says the campaign was success and he has plans to keep it going.

"We already ordered green armbands for the brand new officials that are going to start off the season in 2022-23."